Family Time: Dazzle your guests with your holiday etiquette

Wednesday

Oct 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 28, 2009 at 3:23 AM

Weekly family rail, with holiday etiquette tips, a review of “Cirque du Freak” and more.

Tip of the Week

"Table manners have become a lost art," says etiquette expert Jill Slatter. "Think back 15 or 20 years ago - families gathered every evening for a proper meal. But these days we're all stretched so thin juggling work, school and home, most folks don't have time to sit down together, so when holidays roll around, no one's sure what to do at a formal meal." Slatter is an etiquette coach at Greensboro, N.C.-based Replacements Ltd. Slatter offers this quick holiday etiquette 101 to give you insight that will dazzle your guests.

- Forks to the left, knives and spoons to the right. Only set out utensils that will be used for various courses.

- The bread plate goes on the left of the dinner plate, glasses on the right.

- Wait to pour. Water glasses should be the only glasses filled before your guests arrive. Iced tea, wine and other beverages should be poured once everyone is seated. Wine should be filled halfway, not to the rim.

- Salad and bread should be the only food on the table when your guests arrive.

- Remember, the hostess always sits last.

- Unscented candles are a great part of holiday decor, but should only be lit during the evening. "Another thing to keep in mind, flickering candles are more than a distraction, those can cause headaches," warns Slatter. "That's why you never want to place burning candles directly in front of your guest, and make sure you situate the flame below eye level."

- Centerpiece too tall? Sure those flowers you spent hours arranging are pretty, but will only get in the way if your guests have to crane their necks to look at each other. Make sure your guests can see over any table adornments.

- Passing isn't just in football. Always pass food around the table counter clockwise to the right and refrain from serving yourself first. Always pass the salt and pepper as a set, even if you're only asked for one.

- Wait for the signal. Your host will let you know when it's okay to begin eating. They may make a prayer or statement or start by passing a dish.

- If you're not sure which utensil to use with each course, start on the outside and work in toward the plate.

- If you need to excuse yourself temporarily, gently place your napkin in your chair.

Synopsis: "Cirque Du Freak" tells the tale of a boy who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.

Violence/scary rating: 4.5

Sexual-content rating: 3

Profanity rating: 3

Drugs/alcohol rating: 2

Family Time rating: 4. This is too violent/scary for youngsters, so let the PG-13 rating be your guide.

(Ratings are judged on a five-point scale, with 5 being “bad for kids” and 1 being “fine for kids.”)

Synopsis: The year is 1901. It's been 23 years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook. Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures. These shadow creatures are determined to find a secret cache of startstuff that fell to London many centuries ago. The starstuff is hidden in an underground vault that has only one key: the Sword of Mercy, a legendary weapon kept with the Crown Jewels. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it is up to her 11-year-old daughter Wendy to keep the starstuff out of the Others' clutches. She has heard her mother's stories of a flying boy named Peter Pan, and he may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom.

Did You Know

Illinois produces the most pumpkins in the United States - 496 million pounds, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. California, Pennsylvania and New York also grow a lot, each topping 100 million pounds of pumpkins.

GateHouse News Service

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